Re: Too Busy For A Friend?

[Guest guest]

Casrolyn, I read this many years ago. I used to teach and this really

touched me then and still does. The teacher had become upset because the

behavior of her students had become very negative and she was

attempting to change the group dynamics of her class. it

worked!!!thanks for the reminder. ( the newbie)

Carolyn Merritt wrote:

>

> Too Busy for a Friend...

>

> */One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other

> students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between

> each name./*

>

>

> */Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about

> each of their classmates and write it down./*

>

>

> */It took the remainder of the class period to finish their

> assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the

> papers./*

>

>

> */That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a

> separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about

> that individual./*

>

>

> */On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the

> entire class was smiling. " Really? " she heard whispered. " I never knew

> that I meant anything to anyone! " and, " I didn't know others liked me

> so much. " were most of the comments./*

>

>

> */No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if

> they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't

> matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were

> happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on./*

>

>

> */Several years later, one of the students was killed in /**/Viet Nam

> and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had

> never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so

> handsome, so mature./*

>

>

> */The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved

> him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to

> bless the coffin./*

>

>

>

> */As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came

> up to her. " Were you Mark's math teacher? " he asked. She nodded:

> " yes. " Then he said: " Mark talked about you a lot. " /*

>

> */After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to

> a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to

> speak with his teacher./*

>

>

> */ " We want to show you something, " his father said, taking a wallet

> out of his pocket. " They found this on Mark when he was killed. We

> thought you might recognize it. " /*

>

> */Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of

> notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many

> times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones

> on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates

> had said about him./*

>

>

> */ " Thank you so much for doing that, " Mark's mother said. " As you can

> see, Mark treasured it. " /*

>

> */All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie

> smiled rather sheepishly and said, " I still have my list. It's in the

> top drawer of my desk at home. " /*

>

>

> */Chuck's wife said, " Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album. " /*

>

> */ " I have mine too, " Marilyn said. " It's in my diary. " /*

>

> */Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out

> her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. " I

> carry this with me at all times, " Vicki said and without batting an

> eyelash, she continued: " I think we all saved our lists. " /*

>

>

> */That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for

> Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again./*

>

>

> */The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that

> life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be./*

>

> */So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are

> special and important. Tell them, before it is too late./*

>

> */If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it

> means there is probably at least someone for whom you care./*

>

>

> */The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at

> reaching out to those you care about./*

>

> */Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of

> others comes back into your own./*

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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